Zephaniah 3
Expanded Bible
Jerusalem Will Be Punished
3 ·How terrible for [L Woe to] the ·wicked, stubborn [rebellious and polluted/defiled] ·city of Jerusalem [L city],
which ·hurts its own people [oppresses].
2 It obeys no voice;
it ·can’t be taught to do right [receives/accepts no correction].
It doesn’t trust the Lord;
it doesn’t ·worship [L draw near to] its God.
3 Its ·officers [princes] are like roaring lions.
Its ·rulers [or judges] are ·like hungry wolves that attack in the evening [L evening wolves],
and in the morning ·nothing is left of those they attacked [L there is no gnawing].
4 Its prophets are proud;
they are ·people who cannot be trusted [treacherous people].
Its priests ·don’t respect [profane] ·holy things [or the sanctuary];
they ·break [L do violence to] God’s ·teachings [law; L Torah].
5 But the Lord is ·good [righteous; just], and he is there in that city.
He does no ·wrong [iniquity; injustice].
Every morning he ·governs the people fairly [provides justice];
·every day [L at the light/dawn] he ·can be trusted [never fails].
But evil people ·are not ashamed of what they do [know no shame].
6 “I have ·destroyed [L cut off] nations;
their ·towers [fortresses; strongholds] were ruined.
I made their streets ·empty [deserted]
so no one ·goes there [passes through] anymore.
Their cities are ·ruined [desolate];
no one lives there at all.
7 I said, ‘Surely now ·Jerusalem [L you] will ·respect [fear] me [Prov. 1:7]
and will accept my ·teaching [correction].’
Then the place where they lived would not be destroyed,
and I would not have to punish them.
But they were still eager
to ·do evil [act corruptly] in everything they did.
8 Just ·wait [be patient],” says the Lord.
“Someday I will stand up ·as a witness [to testify; or to plunder].
I have decided that I will gather nations
and assemble kingdoms.
I will pour out my ·anger [wrath; indignation] on them,
all my ·strong [fierce; burning] anger.
My anger will be like fire
that will ·burn up [consume; devour] the whole world.
A New Day for God’s People
9 “Then I will ·give [restore to] the ·people of all nations [L nations] pure ·speech [L lips; C pure because they worship God instead of idols]
so that all of them will ·speak [call on] the name of the Lord
and worship me ·together [as one; side-by-side].
10 People will come from ·where the Nile River begins [L the rivers of Cush/Ethiopia];
my worshipers, ·my scattered people [L the daughter of my dispersed ones] will come with ·gifts [offerings] for me.
11 ·Then [L On that day] Jerusalem will not be ashamed
of the ·wrongs [rebellious deeds] done against me,
because I will remove from this city
those who ·like to brag [arrogantly boast];
there will never be any more ·proud people [haughty]
on my holy ·mountain in Jerusalem [L mountain; hill; C Zion, the location of the Temple].
12 But I will leave in ·the city [L your midst]
the humble and ·those who are not proud [meek; lowly],
and they will ·trust [or find refuge] in the [L name of the] Lord.
13 ·Those who are left alive in [L The remnant of] Israel won’t do wrong or tell lies;
·they won’t trick people with their words [No deceitful tongue will be found in their mouth].
They will ·eat [or graze; feed their flocks] and lie down
with no one to make them afraid.”
A Happy Song
14 ·Sing [or Shout joyfully], Jerusalem.
Israel, shout ·for joy [out]!
·Jerusalem [L Daughter Jerusalem], be happy
and rejoice with all your heart.
15 The Lord has ·stopped punishing you [taken away your judgments];
he has ·sent [swept; cleared; turned] your enemies away.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is with you;
you will never again be afraid of ·being harmed [disaster; evil].
16 On that day Jerusalem will be told,
“Don’t be afraid, ·city of Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple].
Don’t ·give up [L let your hands grow weak/hang limp].
17 The Lord your God is ·with you [in your midst];
the mighty One will save you.
He will ·rejoice over you [take delight in you].
·You will rest [or He will quiet you; or He won’t rebuke you] in his love;
he will sing and be joyful about you.”
18 “I will take away the sadness ·planned for you [or over the loss of your appointed festivals],
which would have made you very ashamed.
19 At that time I will ·punish [L deal with]
all those who ·harmed [oppressed] you.
I will ·save my people who cannot walk [rescue the lame]
and gather ·my people who have been thrown out [the scattered; C perhaps shepherd imagery].
I will give them praise and ·honor [fame; renown]
in every place where they were shamed.
20 At that time I will gather you;
at that time I will ·bring you back home [gather you].
I will give you ·honor [fame; renown] and praise
·from people everywhere [L among all the peoples/nations of the earth]
when I ·make things go well again for you [restore your fortunes; or return your exiles],
·as you will see with your own [L before your] eyes,” says the Lord.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
